enjoying the day...

Ouch, that is how my fingers are feeling today.  One would think that I wouldn't have managed to damage two fingers doing something that I have done for literally decades.  Yet, her we are.  Trimming threads on the family quilt I managed to put a nice slice into my pointer finger with a pair of super sharp scissors, ouch.  Not terrible, still able to be used, but definitely tender.  

Then yesterday while working on the antique quilt, I was so focused on holding together some fairly interesting seams that I didn't even notice the needle of the sewing machine aimed right at my middle finger of the same hand.  Ouch, ouch, ouch!

Each strike of the keys reminds me that I need to pay better attention to the minutia.  Both injuries are minor.  Both injuries will heal very quickly.  Both injuries have definitely got my attention today.  Neither injury will stop me from doing what I want to do, but they will make me far more cautious and force me to pay attention.  

I lost myself in my project yesterday, I had set the goal of finishing the quilting of another quilt.  It wasn't large so I knew I could accomplish it. With Hubs gone and very few distractions, short of double injured fingers I got to work.  I turned on a few different podcasts, had to make a second trip up to the sewing room to load bobbins, brought down a big glass of water and went to work.  

I'm quite pleased with the final outcome.

I honestly did not have many hopes about the outcome, I was hoping for a simple utility quilt, knowing how awkward the piecing was.  Half way through, I came to the realization that quilting can hide a multitude of sins.  It's not a perfect quilt, although it is a true and pure reflection of someones hard labor and after quilting, I am in love with it.  This morning as I put the binding on and completed it, I was sad that it wasn't big enough for my bed.  The feed sacks, muslin, polyester and flannel bits and pieces feel warm and welcoming.  They invite you to snuggle up beneath it and relax. To spend some time day dreaming.

I need to run to the farmers market today or at least I should.  They still have some great prices on their tomatoes and the season is coming to an end.  I am getting low on tomato paste and this is the perfect time to pick up the supplies.  Truthfully, I don't want to.  I just don't feel like peopling today.  I'm showered and dressed, ready to go so to speak.  But mentally, that bucket is drained.  It's completely empty. 

Even sitting by my beautiful fire this morning did not inspire me to want to go out and about.  That phrase it's just too peoply out there keeps running through my head. I had to go to a neighborhood meeting yesterday, they are going to be doing some repairs to our roads and we needed to be sure we knew when they were blocking us off. Being around that group of diverse personalities was super challenging.  They all seemed to be fussing about someone in the group.  Ironically, the neighbor that has been the worst one for destroying neighborhood unity decided it was the perfect time to preach all about how we should be more community and neighborhood driven.  I understood folks feelings as they walked off, refusing to listen.  It was draining. 

I feel I will probably find myself at my longarm again shortly.  Losing myself in the satisfaction that comes from finishing a quilt.  Its feeling like an addiction.  In two weeks time I have finished two of the quilts that have languished in my sewing studios for decades.  I have about 5 or 6 more waiting to be completed and I now seem to have this super strong urge to complete them all. I mean what is the purpose of having a stack of unfinished quilts?

I pressed out another one to load this morning, I guess it might have been my inner self telling me what I was going to do today. I'm already envisioning the designs I want so use.  I plan to do something a bit different that I usually do, so we will see how that works out.  I figure if I manage to complete one every couple of days I might have at least three of them finally finished before the fabric comes in to finish the "family quilt" early next week.  I would really like to have my family quilt finished before Hubs heads to Alabama, so that he can show it to Sis.

still not the final layout

Yep, I think I am going to continue to boycott being in public.  I'm going to get a big glass of water and head down to my longarm and start on the next quilt. But first I think I will just snuggle with the boy dog, the girl dog simply can't stand to be cuddled for very long, although you can pet her all day as long as she is free to come and go as she pleases and finish drinking my cold cup of coffee and do a bit more day dreaming... 

love and prayers...

preparing and completing...

Happy Friday!  I don't know about where you live, but here in the Lou the winds pretty much turned my beautiful autumn landscape into a barren winter looking one almost over night. Personally, I love walking on a nice windy autumn day, and that is exactly what Hubs and I did last night.  

The wind was crazy and leaves were swirling around us.  It was amazing.  The cloud formations continue to amuse us.  Lately they have seemed so full of shapes and objects.  At one point last night it looked like a giant was up in the heavens pulling aside the sky to look down on us.  That accompanied by the crazy sounds of the animals prowling through the common ground leaves definitely added a slightly scary spin to the walk.  It was great!

We decided to tackle the hill and go visit the girls for a few minutes.  I cannot tell you how amazing that makes me feel.  We were almost to the bottom when Hubs looked at me and said "wait, don't you have trouble with down hill?", why yes that is the more difficult thing for me to do and yet there I was, almost strolling down the hill. 

I feel like this is a season of completions, a time to wrap up things to tuck the year away and ready for our "winters" rest.  

Wednesday I finished the quilt I had been working on, it is double sided.  I am quite happy with the way it turned out, more importantly the owner of the quilt seemed super happy based on the video I saw. I didn't really rest afterwards though.  I started on the quilt for my grand nephew, he will be making his debut soon so I want to have it ready.  Hopefully it is on the longarm today and finished either tonight or tomorrow. 

I also put the garden to bed.  That absolutely kills my heart, I love the beauty of my garden, the energy that it has while it is alive and growing.  To look at my beds void of anything except soil and frames is simply sad.  Today, I will clean up the leaves that have blown and the rest of the "stuff" that accumulates during a season.  Disconnect the watering system and top off the beds with some fertilizer and soil, ready for their long winters nap. 

I spent some time planning next years garden as well.  The barren shelves in the stores are starting to concern me a bit, so I am planning for a far more productive garden next year. With far more intentionality and thought to how it will serve us than in the past.  I also started modifying where the boxes were placed and the path the squirrel likes to run, making sure I only put hardy plants in those areas.  

I pulled the last of the jalapenos and crushed peppers, not sure if the crushed peppers will continue to ripen on the window ledge, but I do feel it is worth the effort to try. I was quite pleased with how those turned out this year. I think I might use the jalapeno's to make some jalapeno jellies for Christmas gifts.  

Browsing different seed catalogs is one of my favorite activities and I will admit that I might have spent a significant amount of time doing just that yesterday.  I am fairly sure I have narrowed my selection down and will order today.  

I can't explain this feeling that I keep having, but the need to "nest" and prepare for the winter is pretty over powering this year. It's been a long time since I have felt this strongly about it, not in a stressful way, but in a way that says... it's time to be forward thinking. 

Today feels like a great day to finish cleaning up and tidying our property, to complete a few projects that have been lingering and start planning for next week.  It will be a busy one for me as I want to finish the other quilt on my list and also get my soaps made.  As I am sitting here enjoying my fire and doing my daily planning, I feel it will include a whole lot of wrapping up the bits and pieces scattered around me.  Completing inventory in the different areas and probably finish cleaning out closets and arranging to donate the clothing I am cleaning out.  Oh yeah... and ordering those seeds.

Winter is knocking at the door, we need to be prepared.  Are you?

love and peace...

everyday ordinary things...

The brilliant autumn blue sky is hiding behind a blanket of clouds this morning, rain is on the way.  I still haven't completed my outside chores, but that quilt I have been working on is 90% done! I just need to finish sewing on the binding.  When I looked at the clock last night it was 10:01 when I stopped working on it.  I will wrap it up today.  And hopefully get it delivered by tomorrow.  It's turning out awesome, I don't know why I was so worried about doing it. 

I will be the first to admit that standing for 5 hours at my longarm on the concrete floor yesterday was probably stupid.  My knee and back were pretty ticked off, but nothing a good night of sleep didn't fix. As I move forward with making quilts I feel strongly that I am going to need to get an anti-fatigue mat or seriously plan for no more than a 2 hour stretch at quilting. And as I get totally lost in the creation process, the mat is probably going to be the solution.  I hate to spend more money, but I don't want to lose my joy in the midst of pain. 

Truthfully that is why I stopped sewing last night.  The binding has to be put on by hand - at least for this one - and my poor fingers aren't very calloused right now, so they were hurting pretty badly. Add to that the fact that I sent a nut pick into my left thumb on Monday (the reason no knitting has been happening) and my fingers have not been having the time of their lives. 

As I was finishing up the quilting yesterday, my mind had already moved on to my next couple of projects and prioritizing them.  I am making a memory quilt for a dear friend, but she doesn't need it until Christmas and it will be a fairly quick project as it is only one sided and a twin size at that.  So I think the next project will be my great nephew's quilt as he is due within the next month. That will also be a fairly quick one.  It will take me longer to cut it out and to put it on the longarm than to actually make it.  Probably a days work.  

I've been lost in podcasts while working, nothing wrong with learning at the same time your hands are busy with mindless work.  I'm currently deeply interested in homesteading sites.  I would be lying if I said the out of control inflation wasn't causing me serious concerns.  I am a bit of a planner, not enough of one if you want the truth, I'm still far to reactionary as opposed to being prepared.  But I am working on that. 

I talked a bit about the news from our natural gas provider, that started me feeling a bit on edge and unprepared.  The fact that the shelves at the stores seem to still have huge holes has me a bit more concerned, and the way prices are going up... well... a bit of common sense never hurt anyone. 

In fact that is how I ended up with a small hole in my thumb. We eat a lot of nuts, we cook with them, we munch on them... they are a staple of our diet.  This past weekend at the farmers market we got a great deal on some nuts in the shell still, I spent the afternoon on Monday shelling nuts.  I'm okay with doing a bit of manual labor to save a few dollars and put up some supplies for winter. The hole will heal and if I'm lucky I might even have a small callous to prevent that in the future. 

I don't advocate for hoarding and the like, although if you were to look in my studio you might beg to differ, but I do believe in being prepared.  I grew up on military bases, sometimes you waited a really long time for the supply ships to arrive and when they did, sometimes there was simply not enough stuff for all of the folks that had been waiting.  I think it is one of the reasons I am fairly flexible about a lot of things. 

I've decided that I will be a bit old fashioned.  No surprise there, huh?  I am working on planning out our winter stores.  Making sure that I have enough of things we use, preserving or dehydrating things that will come in handy for us over the winter.  I just feel the need to be prepared. To plan ahead so to speak. I don't know why, but this winter has me concerned.  Maybe it's all the strange happenings.  Maybe it is PTSD from the past 18 months or so.  Maybe it's the way the cost of everything is increasing at a steady rate. And maybe it's all the people that appear to be absolutely blind to what is occurring with these price increases.  

A bit of preparedness that I never need, sure beats the heck out of needing something and not being able to get it.  I firmly believe life is about checks and balances.  

I am also working on planning to teach some of these more basic skills.  Do they even offer home economics in schools anymore?  I am all about people being more self-sufficient. 

Now that I have at least one of the three critical quilts almost done, I can start planning a soaping day.  I haven't bought soap in years, I don't intend to start now.  I will take an inventory of supplies, plan out my recipes and then get myself busy.  It might be a two or three day process to get all of it made, but then it is off of my list. Some of the favorites are simple melt and pour soaps, but they are so wonderful to use.  Others are more labor intensive, of course those ones would be my favorites, so they must happen also.  I will also make some of the hot process soaps that so many of my friends like, my well stocked soap closet must contain Wild Sexy Man soap.  Please don't ask me what the passion is around that one, because I only made it as a joke and it has developed a life of it's own. 

I also have a few other projects that I need to get working on.  I have candles to make, not that I am running low, but because they simply need to happen. I have boxes of supplies sitting around, time to make some magic.  Any that we don't personally need I will sell or give as gifts. 

I have also decided to brush off some of my old scouting skills and makes some fire starters for us.  One can never have too many fire starters when you have a fireplace. And who knows it could be a cold winter for us if these big corporations don't get their business together.

Well, it looks like it's just another day in my wacky world.  I love it.  The only thing I would change would be bringing our family members closer.  I miss my boy and his girl.  I wish my sister in law was closer, same with my mom and sisters.  I wish my dear friends were closer. But each of us has to live our life's journey, and theirs are not in my backyard. 

I would love to have acres and all of us on it. Where we could all work together and support one another.  I wish that I was closer to my sister right now that is trying to make miracles happen.  I would love to be able to work alongside her and create those miracles.  Instead, I watch helplessly from afar and wish.  I simply don't know what else to do, I have tons of skills that would benefit her, I am just too far away to help. 

I'd better get busy.  Want to tidy up and shower before my friend comes over for a day of creating.  I am looking forward to visiting and working side by side.  I have discovered I truly enjoy time with my tribe, it changes up the pace and allows me to "people" on my own terms.  

One of the ladies I am really digging into right now always says "stay busy"... I love that thought! Stay busy creating the life you want and crave on your deepest soul level! 

love and peace my friends...

ps... I am seriously considering no longer sharing my blog on Facebook, so if that is the only way you know if I have posted and reading it is something you enjoy, please consider following it. 

around the campfire...

Sitting here by the dying embers of the fire in my fireplace at home, is so very different than by the campfire.  Just as relaxing and centering for me, but so very different.  I feel a fire is healing, probably not too ironic for a Leo birth sign.  I could sit by a fire all day, it calms me, causes me to feel centered and balanced. 

As we sat beside our final night campfire on Thursday it felt like we had just arrived, neither of us could believe that 5 wonderful days had flown by in what felt like the blink of an eye. We stayed up late to watch the last of the embers.  We'd already realized that we would be winterizing our camper the next day, as the campgrounds either close or go to dry camping only far too soon.  

a fire and full moon

As we are early risers we both made sure to be up and bundled for our final campfire yesterday morning.  Every last bit of firewood was enjoyed while sipping our coffee and enjoying the moon setting behind the ridge as the sun rose on the other ridge.  We were both a bit chilled as the embers finally faded, 46 is a bit chilly when you have been snuggled up to a crackling fire. 

The peace of welcoming a full moon and end of the Mercury retrograde while lounging beside our warm campfires filled both of our hearts with a calmness, with joy and happiness.  I felt like a kid again.  I know that I cannot be an RV person full time, I need my home and space, that brings me a different kind of peace, but it is so very, very hard to leave the campsite. 

We didn't go far, only about 90 minutes from home, just far enough.  Yet so much happened during those five days.  

I was just finishing up one of the Christmas presents I started yesterday while lingering over my coffee, my thoughts swirling like mad, wondering if the weather had lied to us yet again. We were supposed to spend a day outside with friends at their cabin, but the promise of non-stop rain had us changing plans last minute.  

as Hubs pointed out... me fishing..

All week I had my calendar with me and barely managed to write a thing, yet we were busy each day.  Expending time like it was going out of style.  We haunted antique stores, found fishing holes (definitely not enough), we walked and walked and walked, we explored little towns, we collected black walnuts, spied on baby raccoons playing in the moonlight along the walking trail, we watched the deer playing in the almost vacant campground and we hiked. 

can you find the raccoon?

The first couple of days were very uncomfortable for my knee, I was worried that I had made a bad decision, but then by the third morning I realized I wasn't walking stiff, that it was bending and I could easily step over the uneven ground and tree limbs and roots.  It almost felt normal.  It's still a bit tight and initially I struggle a bit, but I can actually use it almost normal.  How do I know? Did you notice that I said I hiked?  

look who's leading!

so many deer...

On Thursday, after longingly looking at all the hiking trails - and admittedly being very jealous on my niece that goes hiking and posts amazing pictures - I talked Hubs into trying a hiking trail. All of the trails at Meramec State Park are moderate or rough.  So I studied their descriptions of the landscaping and what you would encounter on all of the moderate trails.  I was definitely determined. 

The trail I really wanted to take unfortunately had a lot of steep inclines and declines, and I knew my knee is not a fan of those at all.  Want to mess me up?  Send me on a path with a lot of downhills, I can handle uphill fairly well, but downhill... nope not good for me. 

ready to conquer my fears!

So I grudgingly settled for path number 2.  I even agreed to use my cane (shhh... don't tell Hubs, but the only reason is because I don't currently own a walking stick) to insure that I was able to keep my balance.  It was not only breathtakingly beautiful, but the accomplishment!!!  I hiked!!  So many self limiting ideas vanished in that moment.  As I made it to the top of the first small hill, I was fairly certain that I was invincible.  I am sure my dear sweet Hubs was losing his ever loving mind as he followed me.  I felt stronger and braver with each step.  After 12 long weeks of recovery and years of pain, I was finally able to do something that I love more than anything, I was able to hike in the forest.  

And this is the perfect time of year for it if you ask me.  The temperature was cool (great on several accounts - I don't like to be hot and the snakes are hibernating!), the breezed was swirling the falling leaves all around us and the colors are spectacular. I am definitely an autumn girl.  It is my preferred season. 

I took my laptop with me.  I fully intended to blog each day.  Yet something about the stillness of the river, the beauty all around me, the flow of the days.  I simply couldn't.  I had no desire to connect to the greater world. 

I spent hours walking, sitting in the sunshine, knitting and crocheting, playing cards, reading, star gazing and simply enjoying the time with my sweet Hubs.  The thought of anything external seemed like an intrusion.  The fact that the internet was so spotty as we discovered when Hubs had to do some work only seemed to reinforce that it was definitely something I did not want to engage in.  

I was fussy when work intruded for Hubs.  I didn't want to be, but dang it felt disrespectful.  I remember when I was never able to completely shut off, I didn't realize until it wasn't an issue anymore how deeply damaging it is to never be able to disconnect. At the time you feel needed, you feel valued.  From this side of the coin... it's disrespectful.  You are not being treated as a human, you are being treated as property.  You are not being valued, with an understanding that as a person that gives all the time you occasionally need to recharge, to refill your own bucket... nope you are simply the easy answer.  I hate when people treat each other like that. 

How did we survive before the advent of electronic leashes?  Oh yeah, we used our own brain power to problem solve or we waited...

Okay off my soap box, soon Hubs will retire and that will no longer be a thing. 

Back to the forest, river and surrounding beauty.  I decided instead of just trying to turn my ankles on all of the black walnuts, I was going to harvest some.  I have two bag fulls that have already had the hulls removed that I gathered in lieu of another hike yesterday.  I haven't tried harvesting them for years, but decided I was going to go for it. Today I will scrub the shells and store them down in the furnace room for the next few weeks.  If everything goes as planned we will be able to enjoy them right around the holidays.  

Meramec River

card shark...

Hubs got carded buying wine, only in Uranus!

It sure felt like a hard jolt back to reality yesterday. We'd stayed at the campsite until the last possible moment and if there wasn't someone coming in to take the site we would probably still be sitting there. It felt like such a final end to the season to winterize the camper.  I know that we can still go dry camping, but I might be too spoiled to have to walk in the cold to a shower/bathroom.  But I am definitely not going to say it will never happen.  Hubs and I tend to decide strange things all the time.  

Touching back down to home base definitely filled up the to do list a bit.  Or maybe it's simply called adulting?  Yesterday, we rushed to do most of the yard work before we took the camper back to the storage unit.  The promised rain definitely looks like it will arrive, so it is a good thing that we rushed to complete the task, we were almost at the point we needed to consider a grazing animal to keep the lawn under control.  I still need to trim back the gardens and put them to bed for the winter.  Just the idea makes me sad. 

I am so thankful for those five beautiful days and nights, I feel energized and ready to take on the world.  Thankfully, my mind and body seem to both be in the same place at the same time... I know this is picture heavy... sorry... nope not sorry... hope you can cherish the beauty with us... 

peace and love...